“You embarrassed us, Eve,” he said as he opened the top of the cage. Whatever was inside bumped the whicker walls, almost knocking it from Erik’s hands.
“What are you going to do?” I didn’t mean to whimper.
“Teach you to respect us once and for all.”
Water poured from Sable’s can.
I closed my eyes and prepared for the inevitable. As if sensing my thoughts, Erik took hold of my foot and guided it into the trap. Something bit me hard, and I yelped.
“This rat hasn’t eaten for days. Hope your foot has enough flesh on it—”
My screams drowned out the rest of his words. The hungry rat was tearing into my skin with teeth and claws. I tried to kick at it, but that only made it madder, and it clamped onto my pinky toe with sharp teeth.
To escape the pain, I did what I’ve always done: left reality and traveled to Eden—a secret haven I’d created when I was just a child. It was a refuge hidden deep within my subconscious that I used to protect myself from Erik and Sable’s constant abuse.
I’d first heard of Eden when I was only six from an elderly woman who’d marveled when I revealed my name.
I was standing outside a jewelry shop in Manhattan waiting for my father, when a woman with thick eyelashes and a gentle smile approached me. “What’s your name, little one?”
I’d been taught not to speak to others, but the woman’s eyes felt like a canopy, sheltering me from the world. In a small voice, I answered, “Eve.”
“What a beautiful name,” the old woman said, her gnarled hands gripping a cane. “You must be really special.”
“Why?”
“Because Eve was the mother of all living. She was beautiful, kind, and full of love. It’s a great honor to be named after her.”
“Where is Eve?” I asked, hoping I could visit her.
“She lived in a wonderful place called Eden where there was no pain or sorrow. But that was a long time ago. Eden is gone, along with Eve. But I can see in those rare emerald eyes of yours, that you will be just as great as our Mother Eve.”
It was at this moment when Erik, who seemed to appear out of nowhere, shoved the old woman backward. She stumbled and tripped over the curb and fell into the street.
“Keep your idiotic stories to yourself,” Erik said.
He pulled me away from the crumpled woman lying in the street. Before she disappeared from my view, I glanced over my shoulder one last time. She was struggling to stand, but our eyes met, and she smiled.
Out of nowhere, a bus rounded the corner, going faster than it should. I screamed a warning, but it was too late. The bus ran over her as if she wasn’t there. I turned to bury my head into my father, but stopped when I noticed he was chanting under his breath, a deadly spell.
That was the first time I created Eden, and I had returned many times since. As long as I had Eden, I was out of their reach.
I arrived there now, just as the full moon reached its peak in the night sky. Its silver light brought the dark world to life, illuminating trees and flowers that blanketed the ground. The air smelled of salt and pine, and in the distance, waves hushed against the shore. I moved into a groove of trees, anxious to see the ocean.
I didn’t get very far. Somewhere inside my subconscious, a man was yelling. Something crashed, metal against metal. I didn’t listen too closely for fear that returning to the real world would bring excruciating pain again. I reached the edge of the woods, but the man’s angered voice persisted until my curiosity overrode the fear of torture.
I closed my eyes and willed myself back to reality, but as soon as my mind connected with my body, the pain was greater than I’d anticipated. I cried out and fought against the straps around my chest.
“What have you done?” the same male voice said.
I forced my eyes open. In front of me kneeled Boaz.
Chapter 5
Boaz gazed at my bloodied feet, his eyebrows pressed together. Erik stood against the wall, the cage in his hand. Sable was gone.
Breathing shallowly, I glanced down at my right foot. It would’ve been unrecognizable if it hadn’t been for my first and second toes, which were mostly intact. The rest of my flesh had been shredded, exposing bone in some places. I gripped the sides of the chair and threw my head back, stifling another scream. Boaz released the straps around my legs and chest. He seemed to be at a loss for words as he stared deeply into my eyes, his cool hand smoothing back my sweat-drenched hair.
He turned to Erik. “You tell Sable to fix this tonight!”
“But Boaz, you must understand—we were only trying to teach her a lesson.”
“Can you stand?” he asked me.
Though the pain was severe, I ignored it. The last thing I wanted was help from a vampire. I pushed against the armrests, lifting my body to a standing position.
“Breathe,” he whispered in my ear while he steadied me with his hands.
I exhaled the breath I didn’t realize I’d been holding.